Parade

Ask Marilyn: What's the Effect of Grade Padding on American Education?

Anonymous (city withheld) writes:

Marilyn: You wrote about administrative efforts to pad grades in school. When I was a student in elementary through post-graduate school, I needed at least a score of 78 to get a low C grade. Anything below 70 was a failing grade. What do you think grade-padding has done to American education and its ranking internationally? As a school board member, I would appreciate anonymity. Marilyn responds:

On a large scale, grade-padding has made us think that we are doing better than we are, compared to other highly-developed countries. This may make us less competitive in world markets and have long-term economic ramifications.